Are you interested or committed?

A few weeks ago, I was reading about some research conducted by the?University of Scranton in 2016, which revealed that 92% of people set New Years’ goals and NEVER achieve them. Before the end of January, many would’ve already forgotten about them! This startling statistic had me thinking….what I’ve realized that the main reason why most of us are stuck is because we like the?idea?of a goal-?the end-result?but not the process and the journey to getting to get there. There are parts of the process that's grueling, not cute and just plain HARD--and this is where we want to throw in the towel...can you relate?

We’re excited about the fruit, but we forget that we need to tend to the root. We struggle to commit and invest in the?journey.?We're interested but not committed.

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Recently, I was observing and reflecting on one of my brother's passions- fishing... My brother is what you'd call a fishing fanatic. He's fully invested in every part of the fishing experience- not only the 'catch' (which many times do not happen by the way), BUT the?entire experience- the selection of rods, hooks, bait, type of reels (I recently found out that there are reels that are worth over 3K USD!), the time of day, the types of fish, even his fishing 't-shirts'/merch etc. My brother continues to do extensive research, joining local and international fishing groups, he invests in tools and gears for the ultimate fishing experience. On days when he doesn't get a 'catch' he's never daunted, because for him, the thrill is really the process. I share this because my brother is the perfect example of COMMITMENT.

I had a mental download a few weeks ago- “commit to complete”. We MUST commit. Commitment is an ACTION word.?Commitment is defined as…"the state of being bound emotionally or intellectually to a course of action..."?(American Heritage Dictionary, Fourth Edition). A key word in this definition is?BOUND. A bound is a duty and doing something with certainty. A key word within bound is?BOND?which is a promise or an agreement. Commitment is a promise to do what we said we'd do!

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Commitment and discipline also go hand in hand. Here are 5 simple strategies to boost your commitment muscle:

1. Have a strong desire- why is this even important to you? Is it something fickle? Are you doing it because it’s popular?
2. Spend some time to get clear on the next steps- create a plan!
3. Visualize Success and also make visible reminders of the steps to achieve your goal!
4. Tell someone about it- get and Accountability Partner. Someone trusted to push you to the finishing line!
5. Stay flexible and adapt! Be willing to adjust and modify based on new information or new circumstances

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Here’s a pic of my brother in his zone and a recent catch!

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